All Time Greatests

By Noah Rodgers

With so much talent around Shiplake College, we decided to tap the expert knowledge of our teachers and find out who or what they ranked as the all-time greatest in their specialist field.

I vividly remember being sat in an English lesson at the age of 12 and my teacher wheeled in the TV and video cassette player so he could let the class watch the newly released 14-minute Thriller video.

Apart from the fact that the song and video literally blew me away, it was a very cool thing for the teacher to do as it was clearly a pirate copy of the video! Michael Jackson really was an exceptional talent and this album highlights some of the incredible songs he recorded but also his uniquely special voice.

Even now, Thriller is one of my go-to albums. The production (courtesy of the maestro that is Quincy Jones) is sublime and the album still sounds as fresh now as it did in the early '80s.

The album features other classics like Billie Jean, Beat It, and Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'. It really is an astonishingly good album and the 'King of Pop' delivered what, for me, is one of the greatest albums of all time.

Trying to decide on my favourite car is like asking me to choose between rugby and cricket or to decide which is best: PlayStation, Xbox or PC; or do you prefer chicken or beef? Well, it's obvious, 1. rugby 2. PlayStation and 3. lamb actually. I digress.

There are many possible favourites, such as the BMW E12 M535i (viewed as the very first M-car, the one that started it all for BMW). What about something American? The Buick GNX maybe? An American muscle car that did not have a V8 in but rather a punchy turbo charged V6 (the most powerful muscle car in production in 1987 in the USA). I could go on and on, but I won't.

My favourite car is the Datsun 240z. This is the car of my dreams. With its sleek lines and straight 6-cylinder engine, it can reach 60mph from a standing start, in under 8seconds. Remember that this was in the 1970s and that mostly Ferraris and Porsches boasted acceleration figures like that.

This car was Japan’s answer to an affordable sports car that was both fast, fun to drive and very importantly, reliable. This gem of automotive history changed how fast cars are perceived. No longer did you have to worry about when your expensive sports car was going to break down or whether you would be able to afford to fix it. A moderately priced sports car made for the people.

A bonus is that it is beautiful to look at. At the moment I have two German classic cars and hope to one day, in the near future, make my dream come true and buy a Datsun 240z. The challenge would be to hide it and its price from my wife!

Though almost impossible to pick a favourite novel - as different novels are favourites for different reasons and different contexts - My Traitor's Heart, by Rian Malan, is a novel that I think everyone should read, until the point that we live in a world where ‘prejudice’ is a word consigned to history.

The book is in the literary reportage genre and written by a man plagued by the ironies and inconsistencies of his own existence as a white South African, born into a family that has been instrumental in shaping the political landscape of the country. Opting for self-exile in the US, because of an inability to pick a side during the height of the Apartheid movement, Malan ultimately travels back to the country of his birth to try to make sense of its past, its present and its future.

Fundamentally, the telling of the story itself - and surely the writing - is a cathartic journey for the author. For the reader, it is a brutally confronting, but also an incredibly eye-opening look at South Africa. This is not one for the younger members of the college, but for sixth formers and staff it is an amazing text that is well worth a read.

Further, if the word 'Apartheid' is a new one for you, finding out exactly what this was, and what it means, would also be time well spent.

“I swear you’ll never see anything like this ever again!” – Martin Tyler, 13 May 2012. And over ten years on, we never have.

Without a doubt, my most memorable sporting moment came in the 94th minute of the final Premier League game of the 2011/12 season and I struggle to envisage that sporting moment being beaten. I had, a week earlier, turned 16 and despite holding a season ticket for 7 years, had never witnessed my team lift a trophy in Manchester. Surprisingly, the sun was shining in Manchester as I made my way to the Etihad, filled with nerves, excitement and optimism, knowing a win against relegation-threatened QPR would be enough to end the 44 year wait. We couldn’t mess this up, could we?

In the 91st minute of the game, we trailed 2-1 with just 4 minutes of the game to go. A corner kick, below where I sat, was whipped in by David Silva and headed in by Edin Dzeko. With a glimmer of hope rekindled, the atmosphere in the stadium was like nothing I had ever experienced. Almost as though time had stopped, there was a general feeling amongst the 48,000 fans that something magical could happen; that we could be about to witness the most iconic moment in Premier League history. And in the blink of an eye, with 93:20 on the clock, a trademark drop of the shoulder followed by a perfectly hit shot from Sergio Aguero caused the Etihad to erupt.